


I'm Here, You're not Alone

by irondad1spiderson1andloki



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Embarrassment, Father-Son Relationship, Fear, Fluff, Gen, Irondad, Nervousness, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Power Outage, Protective Peter Parker, Scared Tony Stark, Some angst but not really, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Worried Tony Stark, a tiny bit of bad french, some language, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 22:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15543129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irondad1spiderson1andloki/pseuds/irondad1spiderson1andloki
Summary: There is a power outage at Stark Tower.Tony is afraid of the dark.





	1. Chapter 1

Peter had been over at the tower, just hanging out with Tony at the lab and having fun, when it happened. 

"So, I was thinking about adding-" Tony was cut off when there was a soft noise that only Peter could hear, something like a humming, and then the lights all went off. In the middle of the night. It looked like most of the nearby buildings had the same problem, since you couldn't see very many city lights. 

Peter had always had great time with power outages with Ben and May. They would get out flashlights and candles and hide under blankets and tell funny stories. Peter smiled softly at the memory before turning back to his mentor. 

It was a good thing that Tony and Peter were only a good foot apart, otherwise Peter probably couldn't have seen his face properly. Tony might not have told him the truth if that had been the case. Tony's eyes were widened far more than usual, and he had gone pale.

Peter noticed him grip his left wrist. A nervous tic, Peter had noticed over time. The teenager frowned and took one small step closer to Tony, reaching one arm out cautiously. "FRIDAY, why are the lights off?" Tony's voice was rough and shaky. Peter's frown deepened. 

Luckily, FRIDAY didn't run off of the same electricity as the lights, and was able to respond. Her electricity was in a small arc reactor Tony had made, so she could stay on for a very long time. "Well, Mr. Stark, it just seems like a mass power outage. There is no threat." The AI replied, her voice cool and casual. 

Peter wondered if her voice always sounded like that. It just sounded a bit different, maybe a little more soothing. Her tone didn't seem to be helping Tony much, considering the fact that the billionaire was now pacing back and forth in front of Peter. Another nervous tic. 

"Well, I'm Tony fucking Stark! Figure out how to turn it back on!" Tony growled, but his voice was still shaking. "I cannot do that, boss. I'm sorry. It would be best to just wait it out. The power should be on by morning." FRIDAY replied, this time sounding more apologetic. Tony's head snapped up so fast Peter was surprised he didn't get whiplash.

"Morning?! It's 10 PM, FRIDAY!" Tony shouted, running a hand through his hair. FRIDAY didn't respond. 

"Um, Mr. Stark? Is everything okay?" Peter decided he should at least TRY to help. Tony looked over at him with wild eyes, startled as if he had forgotten Peter was even there at all.

"Uh, yeah, Pete. Everything is A-Okay." Tony sounded like he might be trying to assure himself more than Peter. 

Peter didn't want to upset the man, but he was also really curious, and he had no filter. "Are you afraid of the dark?" He blurted before he could even think it over. Peter mentally cursed himself as Tony suddenly stopped his pacing and turned to glare at him.

"No! I am most certainly, uh n-not afraid of the dark." Tony's voice slowly started to fade off, and he started wheezing. Peter put a nervous hand on his mentor's shoulder, wondering if he had made it worse. 

Tony started gripping his chest with one hand, and the other was reaching blindly for something. Tony had his eyes squeezed shut as he continued wheezing, trying to pretend the darkness was just because he had closed his eyes and not because the whole goddamn tower was dark.

Peter was trying to figure out what Tony was reaching for, when suddenly the hand grabbed his own shoulder and pulled him closer. Tony slowly sank to his knees, gasping for air, and Peter started freaking out. "FRIDAY? What's going on, what's happening?" 

FRIDAY took a moment to reply, as if she was hesitating. "It appears Mr. Stark is having a mild panic attack." She admitted, and Peter's eyes widened almost comically. Tony shook his head like he was trying to deny it, but all that came out of his mouth was a broken gasp for air. 

A frustrated tear ran down Tony's cheek, and it looked like Tony was simultaneously trying to breathe while trying to hide his face from Peter. Peter rubbed Tony's back, unsure of exactly what to do. "Hey, Mr. Stark. It's okay, we're safe here. This is just the tower. I'm here." 

He tried to make his voice as soothing and calm as possible. He hoped that in Tony's weakened state he couldn't recognize the slight tremor. This was Peters first time dealing with a panic attack. He hoped he was doing okay.

Tony's breaths slowly started to calm down, and become less choked and raspy as Peter continued with assuring words and rubbing Tony's back. Once his breaths were fully evened out, Tony slumped against the counters behind him, still staying in his place on the floor. 

Peter stayed silent at his side, waiting for Tony to speak. Tony stayed silent, eyes shut tightly, face pointed away from Peter for a good couple minutes. Then, suddenly he turned to the kid with something like a...blush on his face? That was new.

"I'm sorry, kid. You shouldn't have to deal with this." Tony opened his eyes and looked straight at Peter, who was trying not to look too shaken up. "It's okay. You-You can't help it, I understand. So, I guess you're afraid of the dark?" Peter asked, sitting down beside Tony a foot away, back also against the counters.

Tony humorlessly chuckled, rubbing his forehead with two fingers. "Yeah, kid. A little bit. I know that's super immature and you probably expected better from a billionaire, hero guy but I-" Tony started rambling but Peter cut him off. "No, everyone has fears." Peter dismissed him with a sympathetic gaze.

Tony seemed shocked to hear that. Peter wondered what he should say for a minute or two, seeing the way Tony was still curled in on himself as if he were hiding. He decided he would say what he would want to hear. "I'm a little bit afraid of buildings." The teen admitted.

Tony tilted his head to the side, frowning. Not judgingly in the slightest, just curiously. Peter added, "I didn't tell you this before, but when I was fighting the Vulture..." Peter trailed off when he saw Tony's worried face. The suspense hung in the air.

"He dropped a building on me before I crashed the plane. I-I've been a little afraid of buildings since then. Especially things like parking garages with all the-the pillars and stuff." Peter started to lose courage to continue slowly.

Tony looked horrified, and then shut his eyes for what must have been the...fourth time? He let out a shaky exhale. "I'm so sorry, kid. You weren't supposed to have problems like that. I shouldn't have taken your suit. It was all my fault." Tony rambled again.

Peter smiled softly. "It's okay, Mr. Stark. I deserved to have the suit taken away. It was you that got me out anyway. Maybe not literally, but I thought about what you said after the...the ferry, and I managed to lift the building off." Peter tried his best for reassuring, but it didn't seem to soothe Tony.

"You're too kind for your own good, kid." Tony said fondly. Peter hoped he had helped at least a little, and it seemed he had. Tony didn't seem nearly as panicked or afraid as he had at first, and he was actually smiling. Smiling.

Peter thought maybe it was just luck that Tony was in a good mood or something? (It wasn't luck) 

Tony sighed, fixing the shadowy ceiling with a strange glare. "Hey, Pete?" Tony closed his eyes and took a steadying breath, as if he was preparing himself for what he was about to say. 

Peter started worrying when he saw that, and replied swiftly. "Yeah?" 

Tony tapped a finger nervously against the tile floor a couple times before he asked. "Could you like...come...here?" Each word was strained, but Peter wanted to melt all the same. He had always hoped Tony saw him as a son like he saw him as a father, or that Tony at least CARED about him.

He thought this probably proved at least the second theory. "Of course, Mr. Stark." Peter said, trying not to let his joy into his tone, and shuffled closer to Tony. Tony wrapped his arm around Peter as soon as he was close enough, letting out a sigh of relief.

Peter scooted a couple inches closer and laid his head cautiously on Tony's shoulder. The billionaire melted in the touch, entwining his fingers with Peter's hair contently. They sat in pleasant silence for a few minutes before Peter spoke again, not able to keep his mouth shut for too long, the hyper little spider.

"When power outages happened back when, uh, when Ben was alive." The kid flinched. "May would get out the flashlights and Ben would light some candles. They'd set them around the apartment so that everything was lit up in this beautiful, beautiful amber glow." 

Peter smiled happily, stuck in the memory. His next words sounded dreamy, as if he couldn't remember he was still where he was. "May would comfort me, in case I was scared, while Ben got the blankets. We would sit down on the couch and May would wrap the blanket around all three of us."

Tony sighed, resting his head in Peter's hair as he smiled. "She would turn on the flashlights she had and give one to each of us. We would hold them and we would take turns telling stories. Sometimes they were fake stories, and sometimes they were real stories. I loved them either way. We would do that until the power came back on or until we fell asleep." Peter finished his story with a pleasant sigh.

Peter always tried to remember all the positive things about Ben, and he could remember him like that, with stories and hugs, instead of guns and blood.

Tony smiled so wide, Peter could feel it against his head, and made a tiny giggle, reveling in the happiness of the moment. Tony took a deep, satisfying breath, totally calm. "My mom would do stuff like that too." Tony spoke suddenly, surprising the hell out of Peter. 

Peter listened intently, but he kept his eyes closed so he could picture it. 

Tony tried to think about his mother with the pleasant memories, instead of the sad ones, following Peter's example. It was working for the time being.

"She would take out a big, stick candle. She would light it and then take it over to the piano, and set it on top." Tony felt tears pool in his eyes, but he ignored them. "She would take me over to the piano, and I would be so calm about it. Because I trusted her. And then she would try and teach me some more notes."

Peter smiled to himself. "She taught me some French too, but I hardly remember any." Tony laughed a little bit at that, and Peter let out an amused exhale. 

Then Peter smiled again, and made a tiny humming noise. "Elle a l'air charmante, Tony." He told his mentor in French. Tony was surprised at both the fact Peter knew French, and the fact that he understood what Peter had said.

Once the words were processed, Tony pressed a small kiss to Peter's hair, hoping the kid wouldn't hate that. Tony let out one tear roll down his cheek, and then drop to the floor. 

"Yeah, she was. You would have loved her, kid." Tony whispered, suddenly feeling like his voice was far too loud to be disturbing the peace and quiet of the room. 

Peter blinked back tears of his own. "I'm sure I would have."

They didn't speak anymore that night, just fell asleep, sleeping better than they had in months. The power was on when they woke up.


	2. PLEASE READ

This is not a continuation of the story, I would just like to tell you to please read my other stories if you like angsty writing about Tony and Peter. I also have a fluffy series about Shuri and Peter's friendship, and their friendship with the Avengers and co. 

Thank you all so much for all the support!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all like this!
> 
> elle a l'air charmante, Tony. means "She sounds lovely, Tony."
> 
> Sorry if the French is wrong, I used Google Translate.


End file.
